8 urgent reasons you need a business mentor

October 26, 2017Author / Abbie Pullman

8 urgent reasons you need a business mentor

Working at any level within a company is challenging. But it’s particularly tricky when you’re the owner or a Director. There’s constant pressure and the answers to challenges often aren’t obvious. That’s where a mentor steps in.

Knowing that you have an experienced, external advisor to turn to for advice makes all the difference in the world.

Asking for external guidance at any stage of your career is not a weakness – it doesn’t mean you’re failing…! It also doesn’t mean that you lack faith in any of your colleagues. Instead, a mentor gives you the opportunity to learn from tried, tested and diverse experiences.

Getting a mentor falls into the dangerous “important but not urgent” category, so you never get around to it…

So how will a business mentor benefit you?

Objective points of view: You mentor isn’t personally invested in you, and they’re not your boss. Their job isn’t to criticise you or to flatter you, but purely to give you honest and candid opinions, advice and guidance. There are no office politics, no hidden agendas, and no need to put on a front. Their sole role is to support you and help you be the very best you can be! Your mentor is your sounding board and a trusted advisor.

Openness and honesty: It’s difficult to gain honest, direct feedback within your own business when you’re the boss. The confidential nature of a mentoring relationship means that you can speak openly about frustrations. You can raise current challenges, concerns and worries without impacting the morale of your team. They’ll help you see the positives in a situation, as well as helping with your action plan.

Helicopter perspective: A mentor is removed from the daily workings of your business meaning that they can spot issues, challenges or opportunities that you might be too busy or inexperienced to notice. Getting your head out of the day-to-day can seem impossible at times, and it’s easy to become conditioned or institutionalised.

Experience beyond your years, insight beyond your knowledge: They’ve ‘walked the walk’ and can accurately assess and apprehend the dangers, calling on their own experience to notice potential pitfalls. Your mentor has been there: they’ve tackled their own hurdles and they’ve got the scars to prove it! They might not be the same as the challenges you’re facing, but they can help you analyse and create strategies to help you overcome your own obstacles. They also normalise challenges with phrases like “That problem you’re facing? I’ve been there too and it’s tricky, but you CAN solve it!

Dedicated “you time”! Running a business is immensely satisfying but it can be incredibly difficult to take time out for yourself. Your mentor becomes the angel on your shoulder, encouraging you to invest in yourself. They’ll help you to carve out time to set and focus on your own goals and personal development, extending beyond granular, daily business. If you’re at the top, they can also provide much-needed praise and encouragement!

Constant learning: As well as ‘you time’, they’ll push you to learn and hone new skills that will enable you and your business to tackle the future, whatever that might hold. Being mentored provides a different dynamic and an external viewpoint that will push you out of your comfort zone.

Your network and view of the world expands: They can tap into their personal network for additional advice and opportunities, helping to expand your marketing reach and visibility. This adds dimension to your knowledge and prevents against a ‘myopic view’. The more you talk to others across different disciplines, the more ideas you’ll get! You’ll be able to access advice that’s external to your specific niche market, broadening your insights.

The human perspective: Whilst you can Google questions that you have about your career or work, your search results will only answer the exact questions you ask. Mentors can provide many different angles, using their own experiences and those of their peers. They will provide unexpected insights and help you reframe challenges. Because of their external viewpoint, they will positively challenge you and ask the tricky questions that force you to assess areas that you might be ignoring.

Do you want to accelerate your progress and growth? Is it time to invest in your profitability, productivity and most importantly yourself…?